


Bright Blue City Lights

by spaceandshit



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Biting, Death, Dystopian, F/F, Gen, Genetic Modification, Humanstuck, Oh wait, Slavery, Stealing, cause that's a thing in this, i think that about covers it, i'm just tagging stuff for later, kiddnapping, this is going to be so long i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-03-31 08:31:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3971113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceandshit/pseuds/spaceandshit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his friend Rose disappears, John goes looking for her. This leads to him discovering she was part of an underground rebellion force which he promptly joins. As royalty, he must now juggle his secret, for if he were to be found out he would surely be executed, just like his cousin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"I don't have any siblings." You smile politely at him and start to close the door again. Fuck, he was stubborn.

 

He gets his foot in the way and sticks his head in. "There’s no records of her, it’s like she never existed. Please, help me."

 

"Dude, if you don't stop this-"

 

"Oh don't play dumb! You know who I am, they wouldn't arrest me. Look, I'm not wanting to get you in any trouble. I just want know what happened to her."

 

Having an heir in front of your house was going draw attention. You sighed and opened the door. "Get in."

 

You gesture for him to follow you and lead him to the spare bedroom. You grab a notepad along the way and start writing a message to him.  You start digging through the second drawer in the dresser and hand him the notepad.  "You look about Dave's size. I'm going to give you some clothes to change into." You hand him a plain button down shirt and pants.

 

"Why?" He writes back. At least he's catching on quick.

 

"Because you're in royal garb, numbnut. It's best if you look more like a peasant. Also, I want to see if you're bugged." You quickly show him what You wrote. You go back to the dresser and find two paper bags. "Put your clothes in one and your jewelry in the other."

 

"Ok?"

 

He quickly strips off his shirt and turns around slowly so you can check his back. He's smart and probably knows Rose didn't want him to go looking for her. He does the same with his pants and sticks both in one of the bags before dressing in Dave's clothes.

 

"Alright, we can speak now. It doesn't seem I'll have guards knocking at the door."

 

"I snuck out. I'll be in trouble too if they come."

 

"Really? They'd accuse me of kidnapping, you wouldn't get in trouble." You walk to the living room and toss the bag of clothes in the fireplace.

 

"Hey! My favorite vest was in there."

 

"Sorry but there's no way I'm keeping those around. Now, again, I'm sorry but I've got to take precautions, so I'm going to tie your hands together, blindfold you, and put noise blocking headphones on you, okay?"

 

He frowns. "What did I get myself into?"

 

"You're determined to find Rose, right?"

 

He nods. "Fine." He puts his hands together in front of him, long part of the wrists facing each other. You untie the ribbon you had around your waist and decide it'll make due. He watches you as you knot the ribbon around his hands. "Have you done this before?"

 

"Fuck yeah. This is part of protocol."

 

"Oh god." He really is worried.

 

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I was there for Feferi, if that helps."

 

"What? Please tell me you don't have something to do with her death."

 

"Nah. The queen killed her, not us." You didn't add on that your organization was part of the reason she was killed.

 

"Shit."

 

You shrug. "I'm going to go grab the blindfold and headphones, I'll be back in a moment."

 

When you came back he was squirming his arms and hands. You watch, amused, as he continues test the knot. "You're quite good at this," he says with a somewhat fearful smile.

 

"I know. Seriously though, don't worry. I've just got to call a friend and it's best if you don't know who I'm talking to and where you're going." You remove his glasses and tie the blindfold. "Good?"

 

"Yep. I feel like I am getting kidnapped."

 

"Well, by definition I suppose you are."

 

"Wonderful."

 

You slip the headphones over his head and sit down across from him. You pull out your cellphone and call your brother. "Hey Dirk."

 

"Roxy? What is it?"

 

"You're not going to believe who showed up at my door today."

 

"Either someone involved with law enforcement or a new recruit. Please tell me it's the latter."

 

"Possibly. It's John Crocker. Showed up in all his red glory and asking about Rose.""Wait, you've got to tell me! What happened to Rose?"

 

You open the door once more and meet his eyes. "Who?"

 

"Rose Lalonde!"

 

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

 

"She's your fucking sister, damnit!"

  
  
  


"Are you shitting me? What is it with you and royals?" He doesn't sound surprise as much as concerned.

 

"I have no idea. Technically it Rose's fault this time. Anyways can you come pick us up? Also bring a large box so we can sneak him out without the neighbors noticing."

 

"Did you let him into the house? Roxy, I can't believe you."

 

"Don't worry it's fine. He seems earnest and he doesn't actually know my name, he's only referred to me as Rose's sister. I was thinking we could take him to the boutique."

 

"Fine. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

 

***

 

Dirk arrives a bit quicker than he had estimated. There are two solid knocks on the door and you let him in. It takes a little maneuvering to get the large plastic crate he had bought into the house. Once he and the crate were in, Dirk looks over at John. “Well, shit.”

 

“Hi.” You had taken the blindfold and stuff off of him after you’d finish the phone call, there was no point in leaving him tied up the whole time. If he had ran off, you’d just drop off the map. Dirk would be pissed, but that’d be it. You had helped others do it before; they had found someone they thought trustworthy who had then ran off for no apparent reason, and so they moved and assumed a different identity. Hell, you even had a couple already set aside.

 

Dirk frowns. Through his shades you can see his eyebrows scrunched together. “Part of me was hoping you were kidding.”

 

“Nah, she wasn’t. Sorry, dude. So, who exactly are you?”

 

Dirk made a dismissive noise, “A friend. I just want to go over the plan with you real quick. If it’s successful, you should be able to meet up with Rose.”

 

“Wow, more vague answers. You are both so informative.” John sighed, “Fine, what is it?”

 

Dirk ran a hand through his hair nervously. “We’re going to put you in a crate...and pretend you’re a dog.”

 

“What?”

 

“What?” You’re verbal reaction was the same as John’s but came momentarily after as you comprehended what your brother had said. “We never discussed this. When did you come up with this?”

 

“Um, well, I thought it over on my way here…”

 

“Oh my god, why do you always do this?”

 

“And I decided we needed a reason for having such a large crate with us…”

 

“This is so like you, coming up with plans and telling nobody.”

 

“Since we would have to walk a bit, what with parking and all…”

 

“You never tell anyone your plans, you just go through with them expecting everyone to play along.”

 

“And I figured if anyone asks we can just tell them we got a somewhat aggressive dog.”

 

“Sorry to butt into the conversation, but I want to be sure: you are telling me I won’t have to actively pretend to be a dog, right?”

 

Dirk turned to look at John. “Of course not. Can you imagine how fucking ridiculous that would be? ‘Haha, no this isn’t the prince, it’s just our new dog!’ I don’t think anyone would be fooled by a fiasco like that. You’ll just be sitting in a crate. No furry shit involved.”

 

“That’s somewhat of a relief. One more thing, does that box have holes?”

 

“Yeah, there’s like ten on the lid.” He lifted the generic blue lid up for John to see. “I’d be more worried about the size, you are going to be cramped.”

 

“Don’t worry, John, we’re going to be driving for five minutes, tops, and then walking maybe two blocks. You’ll be fine.”   

 

“Okay, then.” John replied with a sigh of resignation. “So if I just climb in the box we can be on our way?”

 

“Basically.”

 

You watched as he climbed in a squatted down, curling into a tight ball. “This might just be the worst day of my life, just so you know.”

 

“Is now a good time to tell you Rose is going to be so fucking pissed?”

 

“I had kind of guessed that.”

 

“Good, then at least you’re somewhat prepared. I’m going to put the lid on now, alright?”

 

“Alright…”

 

***

 

Light. Dark. Light. Dark. Light. Muffled words as you feel the box shift slightly. Is this your world now? Letting strangers pack you up on the promise of finding a friend? The woman might not have been lying at the beginning, she might not have any siblings (although, considering the man’s appearance this was highly doubtful). She might have just seen this as the perfect opportunity to kidnap the foolish prince. With how she spoke of her associates, it seems reasonable. Jade was the only one who knew of your plans for the day, you hadn’t spoken of them to your other siblings or any member of security. You really are stupid.

 

Dark. Door. Light. You can tell that much. There is a pause and more words and then you are moving again. Door. Door. Wait a minute. Door again. You can feel the box being lowered and once fully on the ground, the lid is taken off. The woman holds out a hand and smiles at you. She has a pretty smile and bright pink eyes that remind you of your cousin.

 

“Here we are. Hope that wasn’t to horrible of a trip for you. Rose should be here in a moment.”

 

“It was fine,” you reply quickly. “So, I just wait in here then?”

 

“Yep. Look, I’ve got to go. I have some errands to run. Just stay here, if it gets be an hour or something and she still hasn’t shown then feel free to find an employee and they’ll show you the way out.”

 

“You make it sound like she might not show up.”

 

“She might just ditch you, I don’t know. Anyways, bye.”

 

“Goodbye.”

 

You examine the small room you are in. It’s very... sterile. White walls, hardwood floors, a landscape painting, three chairs, and a table in the center. That’s it. You decide to take a seat in one of the chairs. You wonder what you’re going to say to her, your friend who disappeared without explanation. You start to stare off into space and you’re not sure how much time passes before you hear the door creak and look up.

 

“Oh, dear lord, you have got to be kidding me.”

 

You’re not that sure she’s happy to see you.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *insert some intriguing line here*

“Hi, Rose.” You smile at her and give a half-hearted wave.

 

“John, what the fuck are you doing here?” She is absolutely exasperated.

 

“Well, you kind of disappeared without telling Jade or me where you were going. We were worried. So, I managed to track down your sister. Or at least I think she’s your sister? The two of you look alike and she has the same last name as you so I assumed you were.”

 

“Roxy brought you here? Wait a moment, are you wearing Dave’s clothes?”

 

You look down at the tunic and pants you’d been given. “Maybe? Your sister burnt my favorite vest.”

 

“How’d she do that?”

 

“Tossing it in a fire.”

 

She sighed softly. “I’m not even surprised. Well, if you went through all this trouble...John, how well do you know the history of Maut?” She sat down in the chair across from you.

 

“Um, I believe I’ve had a decent education on the subject. After all, it’s important for a king to know the history of the land he rules.”

 

“Two things: John, by now you should know that’ll you’ll never be king. This is a matriarch, Jane is first line for the throne, followed by Jade, then Jake, and then you. You’re much more likely to be married off to some duchess or princess. Secondly, what do you know of how the Peixes came to rule and of the obstacles they’ve faced keeping their power?”

 

She is right, and you know it. “There was some family that the Peixes helped to overthrow, afterwards the crown was given to them by the people. As for power struggles, there’s been a handful of wars and a few instances of attempts of high treason. The most recent incident took place, oh, forty years ago? Some rebellion group led by an extremely outspoken man. They caused riots in the streets but not much else, in fact their vocalization made it easy to catch and punish them.”

 

“You’re missing the names. Strider and Nitram. The Striders were the royal family before the Peixes, and most historical evidence points to them being mostly fair rulers. Rufioh Nitram was the rebel leader you spoke of. John, can you figure why I’m asking you this?”

 

“Not particularly. Best I can figure is you’re quizzing me, which I wouldn’t put past you.” She smiled at that.

 

“John, Lalonde isn’t my true surname. And just because a leader is killed, does not mean a rebellion dies out.”

 

“What? Oh. Oh! Oh, shit.” Puzzles pieces click into place just like that. She watches you warily as you break into nervous laughter. “Hahaha. That’s really an interesting story, Rose. Wow, this is kind of awkward. So, am I in some sort of rebel base right now or?”

 

“No, this is just my girlfriend’s boutique. We don’t take new recruits to the base right away. Which is what I was told I was doing, interviewing a recruit.”

 

“Girlfriend?”

 

“Yes, John. I’m gay.”

 

“And there is a rebel base?”

 

“Yes, but those are two entirely unrelated subjects.”

 

“And the two people who brought me here, your siblings, they’re the current leaders?”

 

“Yes, and I still fail to see how these things correspond to one another.”

 

“Okay, then. I’ve heard enough. You can sign me up.”

 

“What? John, I think you fail to realize how serious of a subject this is. Feferi died because she was caught associating with this group. John, are you even listening to me?”

 

“Yes, I am. Selectively. So does this organization of your’s have a name?” Your cousin’s death might have been nine years ago, but you still found it to be a sore subject. It had been incredibly stressful watching all those news reports about the missing princess that went on for days before a burnt corpse was identified to be her. The whole kingdom, and even its neighbors, had been in mourning over such a tragedy. After that, your great grandmother insisted on having you and your siblings moved onto her property. You were all given an entirely separate wing, complete with it’s own staff,  to reside in. It was practically the opposite of the small beach home you’d grown up in.

 

“Reassuring, and yes. We call ourselves qui pro aliis pati, or q-pap for short.”

 

“What language is that.”

 

“Latin, it means ‘those who suffer for others.’”

 

“Interesting. Who founded this organization? Was it Rufioh?”

 

“No. It was four people, but we’ll tell you about them tomorrow.”

 

“Tomorrow?”

 

She sighs. “Yes, tomorrow. If you come here at ten me or one of my siblings will be here to pick you up. While anyone else interviewing you would assume you’re a spy, I know you well enough to know you’re nervous but curious. We’ll be taking you to the main base and giving you your initiative mission. I’ll go ahead and tell you now that, odds are, it’ll involve stealing slaves. For now, why don’t I give you a quick tour here.”

 

“Sure that sounds like fun.”

 

“Great. If you’ll follow me…” She gets up from her chair and goes to the door. You quickly do the same. As you walk around the shop you make a few mental notes on the workshop, the front room,  and the secretary. Rose’s girlfriend appeared to be quite the seamstress and there are to be plenty of customers.  The secretary is a pleasant woman and you are informed you can request entry to the backrooms quite easily if you mention your friendship with Rose.

 

While walking through the hallway a tall dark-skinned woman stops you. “Rose? I thought you were in the middle of an interview. Who is this? He looks familiar.”

 

“This is John Crocker, I finished my interview with him a while ago and was giving him a short tour. I mentioned meeting him to you last night, remember dear?”

 

“Oh. Excuse me for not recognizing you, sir. I’m Kanaya Maryam, I own this boutique.”

 

“It’s a bit refreshing actually and I’m pleased to meet you. I’ve seen many your projects already and, why I might not have an eye for fashion, they could come straight from the closets at home.”

 

“Why thank you. Although, I’ve never designed for royalty.”

 

You just so happen to glance at a clock. “Oh, shit. I’ve got to go, like now. Sorry.”

 

You fast walk to the exit while saying your goodbyes.

 

***

 

“Hey! I’m home,” you call out to your siblings as you enter the house.

 

“Ah, there you are! Did you manage to find her?” It was Jade.

 

You make a split second decision. “No, I think I’m actually going to give up the search.”

 

Her brow furrows. “That’s not like you, is everything okay?”

 

“Yeah, it’s just, I don’t think she want’s to be found.” Technically not a lie, right?

 

She sighed, “Well then, maybe it’s for the better. Huh? What are you wearing?”

 

“Oh, it’s a funny story! You know how it rained the other day? Well, the streets are still kinda muddy and a car accidently splashed some on me. Luckily there was a store nearby so I went ahead and bought a change. My clothes were absolutely ruined, I had to throw them out.” Okay, that was a downright lie, but you couldn’t just tell her the truth. “Is Jake home yet?”

 

“Yeah. Surprisingly he got home before you. Why?”

 

“I need a ride for tomorrow, that’s all. Meeting up with a friend.” You’re brain momentarily goes blank on the subject of names. “Dave.” Might as well use the name of the guy whose clothes you’re wearing. And possibly Rose’s brother? You’re already losing track of this shit.

 

“Alright. Jake is probably in his room. Good luck.”

 

“Thanks.” Wow. It’s a really good thing these lies aren’t going to fill you with guilt that will eat you up inside. That’s totally not going to happen. Of course not.

 

For what feels like the millionth time today, you ask yourself what you’ve gotten yourself into.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bio blurb on Rufioh Nitram is up.


	3. Chapter 3

“So who exactly are you meeting? It’s not a lover, right? Oh god, John, if you go off and get married that means I have to get married. John, I do not wish to marry anyone.”

 

“Dave. I’m meeting Dave. He is not my lover, Jake, just my friend. You can calm down.”

 

“Well that’s good.” You can see tension leaving his body as his posture slacks and grip on the steering wheel loosens ever so much.

 

“What are you doing today?”

 

A grin spreads across his face. “I’m going to be exploring some ruins I found to the west. There’s actually a fellow explorer I’m hoping I’ll encounter. I’ve seen her in the area before and have even talked to her a bit, she’s quite talented at guesstimating what time period artifacts are from. I’m hoping to make this trip last a couple of days.”

 

“Are you sure you’re not meeting a lover?”

 

“Please, I barely know her. My interest is simply academic curiosity. Alright, so I’m just getting you into northern Duevall?”

 

“Yeah, I should be able to get back on my own. Wait, didn’t you say you are going west? Didn’t Jane mention Cymma conflicts and such this morning?”

 

“Well, yes. But it’s all a bunch of hogwash. I spend plenty of time over there, and I’ve never encountered a Cymman.”

 

“Just be careful. If you cross the border and somehow fuck everything up, I’m pretty sure Jane will behead you. She’s not happy about meeting with their ambassadors in general.”  
  


“Yeah, yeah. I know. Don’t worry, I never cross the border, I’m always in Muat.”

 

He took a sharp left turn and drove into a busy mostly empty street full of small shops and businesses. “Will this do?” he asked.

 

“This should  be fine, thanks Jake.” He pulled to a stop and let you out of the truck before driving away. You looked around trying to get your bearings and quickly checked the business card you had grabbed last night.

  
With what little knowledge of the city layout you possessed, you came to the conclusion that the boutique, which was apparently titled “Jade Boutiques,” should be located a block or two the 

east. As you made your way there, you wonder who will be there to pick you up and if you are to go inside or just wait in the parking lot down the street. After arriving, however, the answer becomes obvious. It was closed and from here you can see only one car in the lot, an inconspicuous silver compact minivan with someone leaning against the left-hand side.

 

The closer you get the more discernible the figure’s features become; you determine they’re wearing a baggy shirt and pair of aviators that seemed too big. They wave at you and come to greet you. “Hey, you must be John. I’m Dave, Rose’s brother.”

 

You are momentarily confused. “There’s another one of you? I thought the other guy was Dave.”

 

He snorts. “Yep. Congratulations on unlocking the Ultra Strider, which can be combined with the three lesser Striders to create the Mega Ultimate Strider-Bot. And, for clarification, I believe this ‘other guy’ you are refering to would be Dirk.”

 

“Are you sure you’re Rose’s brother?”

 

“She’s questions it too. So, I’m supposed to blindfold you, but I personally thinks that’s bullshit since we’ll be driving for a good hour and I can barely remember the way. I live there. That’s kind of sad, but does prove that it is as impossible to find as a diamond in a pile of shit.”

 

“Wouldn’t that be pretty easy, though? All you’d have to do was wash away the shit.”

 

“Don’t go ruining my metaphors. That’s rude.”

 

“Whatever. You are taking me to the base?”

 

“Well, I’m the only one here so I’m going to say yes.”

 

“Are you always like this?”

 

“Wow, bro, that hurt. That hurt a lot. I’ll never recover. Tell my family I love them. Except Rose, she stole one of my shirts last week.” As he said this he mockingly covered his heart as though he had been injured and slumped dramatically against the car.

 

“Is your whole family overdramatic and sarcastic in some way?”

 

“Now you’re getting it. Yes, yes we are. Although, Rose falls heavily on the sarcastic side of that scale, in case you couldn’t tell. Who am I trying to kid here? You’ve met her, you should know that by now.”

 

“You ramble an awful lot.”

“No shit! It’s almost like I share my genes with two of the wordiest fuckers on the planet. We should probably get going, by the way.”

 

You roll your eyes and climb into the car. Dave went around and got in the driver’s side.  

 

As he drove, the two of you bantered. It was a pleasant but frivolous conversation in which no serious topics were brought up, much to your relief. After a while, you found yourself yawning, and the drifting into slumber. You happily napped the remainder of the ride.

 

***

 

“Hey. Rise and shine, dude. Get up, we’re here.”

 

“Ehgh?” you groaned as blink awake.

 

“Alright, can you hear me?” you nodded in Dave’s general direction. “Good. Kanaya wants to see you first, so I’m going to take you to her. The town’s pretty small so it’s not like you’ll get lost if I gave you directions but manners, man. After that I’m sure somebody will show up to debrief you.”

 

“Mmkay,” you viewed your surroundings. The buildings were mostly wooden, which you couldn't help but find a bit nostalgic of your childhood home. The roads were dirt and few people were walking around. In odd way you were entranced by the alien atmosphere of it all. There were no holos or police or bustling crowds or helicopters. “Wow,” you heard yourself whisper.

 

Dave snorted. “Huh, sorry. I guess it’s kind of different from Muat’s cities.”

 

“Do you even have electricity here?” you ask as you open the door to get out of the car. Even from here you could see pines towering overhead all on sides of the town.

 

Dave follows suit and answers, “Of course. We just don’t see the need to use it for some of its more commercial purposes. Anyways, let’s get over to Kanaya’s.”

 

As he leads the way you play a little q and a.

 

“So this is where you live?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“How do you make money?”

 

“Private lessons. Most of us run small businesses of some kind.”

 

“Like Kanaya’s boutique?”

 

“Exactly. And before you ask, Rose runs a bookstore.”

 

“I think she mentioned that. What do you give private lessons in?”

 

“Mostly self defense and the like. Sometimes music related stuff.”

 

“Oh cool. You know, I play the piano.”

 

“Neat.”

 

Once you were there, you found it to be similar to her shop in Duevall, only warmer and smaller. She was sitting at the front desk this time, reading something. When the door rung though she looked up and smiled warmly. “John, it’s great to see you again. I take it your trip here went well?”

 

“Yeah, it was fine. It’s nice to see you to, Kanaya. Even if I did see you just yesterday.”

 

“Um,” Dave butted in before Kanaya could reply, “yeah. Today’s a council day so I’m gonna go now. I take you can handle it from here?” Kanaya nodded and he left with a wave in your direction.

 

“So why did you want to see me?” You had forgotten to ask Dave that.

 

“Oh, I just want to take your measurements real quick. We shouldn’t need to make any arrangements for your suit, but it’s important for me to fill out my requests quickly and accurately. Boron carbon material is fairly expensive.”

 

“Okay?”

 

She made a dismissive gesture. “I’ll show you after I’m done. In fact let me just send a message real quick…” She messed with a device that was out of view. “There. One my friends is gearing up so he can model it for you.”

 

“That seems a bit unnecessary, don’t you think?”

 

“Perhaps, but he wasn’t busy anyways and it’ll make explaining the suit easier.” She shrugged. “Do you want to do this out here or in the back room?”

 

“Um...Backroom, please?”

 

***

 

“...and that’s your inseam. There we go all done! Hmm. Let me see if he’s in the lobby.” She disregarded her notes and measuring tape to look through the door that lead to the front room. “Sollux, come on in. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

 

As Sollux entered you heard him reply, “It’s no problem. Isn’t Rose usually your go-to model?”

 

“Yes, but last I checked she has office duty.”

 

“Ah, did Dave shove it on to her again?” You finally got a look at the suit Kanaya had told you about. It in a lot ways it reminded you of what the police, except this was in hues of dark grays and blacks instead of silvers and whites.

 

“Probably. So, John, this is what I was taking your measurements for. We’ve had several models of suits throughout the years but this is the most recent one. I noticed a few years ago that the previous model was to heavy and clunky, so I improved upon it. Although the design has been through many changes, the core purpose of protection and security still remain.” She gestured proudly to Sollux’s ensemble. “You can’t tell, but the torso piece is actually leotard, which is important since it’s made of a bullet resistant material. I took a bit of inspiration from a fencer’s jacket. Of course this fabric is much lighter than the thick cotton or nylon you would find in a fencing outfit, and the pants go on over this jacket, unlike fencing knickers. Also I find hoods are easier to slip on than helmets.” You had seen fencing but had never put too much thought into the outfit. “The whole jacket is made from three layers of fabric: a denim spandex, a boron-cotton, and a layer of regular cotton. The additional vest sewn into it is made by adding additional layers of the boron-cotton. Overall the fabric choices insure a flexible protective jacket. The whole thing zips up via a hidden zipper running under the right arm.

 

“As for the pants, they forego the boron-cotton for maneuverability. Under the two buttons, there is a zipper and you would put these pants on as you would any other pants. The boots are also fairly normal. However the accessories are important to note in my opinion. Sollux, would lift your arm?” He did. “Now it’s not the material that makes these so important, but rather purpose. The gloves go up almost to one’s elbow and have zippers on them to assist in putting them on, they’re almost impossible to pull off. The goggles have mirrored surface similar to what you would find on high end sunglasses, and the mask covers the entire lower half of one’s face. In other words, if you have this whole suit on, no facial recognition software can identify you and you can’t leave any usual dna markers behind.”

 

You sat there in stunned silence for what felt like forever, you couldn’t quite figure out the proper response. Luckily it seemed Kanaya was satisfied as was and started chatting with Sollux as he took off his equipment.

 

“Hey, is John here?” someone called from the other room.

 

“Yes, Roxy. He’s back here.” Kanaya replied rather loudly.

 

Roxy joined you and her lit up as she Sollux. “Oh good, you’re here too. Saves me an extra trip. I’ve got news for all three of you.”

 

“What is it?” Kanaya and Sollux looked equally befuddled.

 

Somehow, Roxy’s smile got wider. “We tracked down a Vantas. And, John is going help me retrieve him.”

 

“What?”, Kanaya gasped.

 

“Wait, shouldn’t it be me, Kanaya, and Nepeta going to get them?” Sollux look pretty pissed. “Why is the newbie getting to go?”

 

“We’ve managed to schedule the mission to happen in two weeks, which just so happens to correlate with our waiting period for recruits. John’s royal also helps with this mission, so it seemed logical that it be given to him. Also, we’re having to take one of the better cars to deflect suspicion. We don’t want to just get the Vantas kid, we’re also hoping to save two other slaves. I’d bring you along, but those cars are pretty small. Sorry, I’ll make sure all three of you get to help orientate him.”

 

“Wait,” you don’t mean to be rude, but you were growing tired of waiting for your turn to speak, “who’s Vantas? What does he have to do with you guys.”

 

“Sollux and I, and another member who was mentioned, Nepeta, are all descendants of the four original founders of this organization. Nepeta’s family managed to remain in this organization since the beginning, my family was found when Rufioh Nitram created the allegiance with the southern pirates, and Sollux is actually the first generation of his family to be here since his ancestor was sold into the slave trade. We’ve been looking for descendants of the fourth member, Kankri Vantas, for years, but for some reason they were practically impossible to track down.”

 

“Oh, yeah, Roxy, it seems that they should be the ones to do this. I don’t mind waiting for a different mission to crop up.”

 

“John, really, it’s _fine_. Sollux is just bitter.”

 

You look over at Sollux. “Is this alright with you?”

 

“Yeah. You’re FF’s cousin, right?” You assume he is talking about Feferi and nod. “Then, yeah, it seems appropriate, balanced, that you go.”

 

“Did you know her?”

 

“Yeah, in fact I’m kinda reason she got into this mess. Look, we’re not going to contact you for awhile to try to get anyone on your trail off your trail, so while that happens why don’t you hunt down Eridan Ampora. I’m sure he’d love to tell you all about Sollux Captor.”

 

“Okay.” You make a mental note to look him up.

 

Roxy butts in, “Yeah, John. We’ve got some paperwork to fill so if you’ll excuse me, we should be going now.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long. Very busy summer this year. Of Revenge and Crushes should also be updating soon and if you go to spaceandshitfanfic.tumblr.com you can see all the bonus content for this chapter, including a map, a reference for Kanaya's suit, and four new mini bios. Feel free to comment, I love hearing from all of you. Also, sorry for an abrupt ending.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Dork Strudel for the punderful title suggestion. Hey, you know what I did with this fic? Way to much world building. Including outfit designs, family trees, and biographical articles. Leave a comment or send me an ask on tumblr if you'd like to see any of that. Two chapters finished in one day, though! Who knows? Maybe I'll finish that JadeRose I've been meaning to write.


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